Conquest
by Calen Narwain
Summary: A companion piece to my fic Obsession, centered this time on ObiWan. Set during the Clone Wars. Rated for mild innuendo.


**Author's Note: ** A companion piece to my fic "Obsession". This story is based losely upon the Obi-Wan/Ventress battle on Ord Cestus featured in the Clone Wars novel _The Cestus Deception_ (a smashing good read, by the way). This story is, however, told from Obi-Wan's perspective. What exactly is the nature of his obsession with Ventress? All reviews welcome! Enjoy.

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Admittedly, Obi-Wan is a little surprised at the strength of the first X'Ting youth who charges at him. _No lightsabers_, he had said to a reluctant Kit Fisto, and he regrets that now, calling upon the Force to lend him strength and focus.He brushes the first warrior aside and engages the next, breaking an arm, then a leg, leaving a trail of insectoid bodies on the ground in his wake.

He is well aware that Ventress is tracing his every move from her perch on the metal platform above him; he can feel her pale eyes burning into the back of his neck. _Let her watch_, he muses, pushing down a particularly burly X'Ting. _Let her see what I can do._

Kit reaches her first, and she draws her two blood-red sabers. A smile broadens the pale lips as she matches the Nautolan blow for blow. Obi-Wan feels a flurry of disappointment. He is cheered when he hears Kit's body hit the water, then disgusted at his own pride. Still, he moves eagerly to engage Ventress himself, eyes shining in the dim light of the underground cavern.

Her smile fades and she bares her teeth. Obi-Wan smiles; he has had enough of this play. He leaps up to the platform and bends into the defensive position, challenging her, taunting her, daring her to meet him. And Ventress does. Their sabers meet and dance, two red against one blue, crackling in the moist air. He pins her, and her eyes widen in surprise, but she pushes him away, landing a heavy boot at his jaw.

Obi-Wan curses himself for his momentary carelessness. He lands on his back and scrambles away, searching blindly for his lightsaber, but Ventress is too quick for him. She crouches over his body and holds a saber to his neck, the red glow staining her pale skin crimson. She smiles wickedly, savoring her inevitable victory, and he writhes helplessly beneath her.

In one last desperate attempt to save himself, he reaches up, lightning-quick, and grasps both her wrists, guiding the sabers away from his face. For an indiscernible moment, he sees a change in those hateful eyes, feels a change in her body, a softness that almost tempts him to loosen his grip. Looking at the slope of her shoulders, the graceful curve of her breasts, he feels a change in himself, an awakening of desperate longing.

It is a very different sort of victory he envisions then. He closes his eyes against the growing desire threatening his composure. Only once before has he felt feelings like these, and he has buried them deep, as both Qui-Gon and Yoda bade him do. But this is something _darker_, truly dangerous, and flirting with it makes him feel worse than guilty.

He is spared from this train of thought. Somewhere far below, Kit has cut a vital supporting beam, and they fall. She screams in rage and shock, the sound cut short as her body meets the lake's surface. He calls out to the Force and his lightsaber slaps into his palm right before he hits the water.

Cold agony. Obi-Wan reaches into his tunic and fits his rebreather firmly into place. Ventress doesn't have the luxury of a free hand and moves desperately toward the surface, her lean body gliding effortlessly through the water. But he can feel her frenzy in the Force; she is afraid to lose, afraid of him, afraid of their dark and forbidden connection.

He's going to win. He _has _to win. He lunges at her and she shoots away, abandoning one saber and thrusting her own rebreather in her mouth. _Evenly matched_.

In a flurry of bubbles she is at his throat, wrenching the rebreather from his mouth. A quick snatch and her own is out. Lightsabers forgotten, they wrestle, his hands at her shoulders, her nails digging into his sides. She grabs his head and pulls him close, biting his neck roughly then landing a searing kiss on the wound. He shudders at the contact and pulls back.

Her eyes are unreadable, but he can feel her triumph in the Force. He surprises himself with his anger, pinning her violently against the rocky lake wall. She doesn't struggle against him, even when his lips are mere millimeters from her own. Her eyes are full of challenge, and now she is the one taunting him, daring him to meet her.

But Obi-Wan doesn't. He speeds away and retrieves his saber. She does the same and the two beams of light clash against each other soundlessly, great streams of bubbles streaking in their wakes. A slash and her side is split. He is prepared to die here, and take her with him, and Ventress recognizes his determination. She panics.

A sudden blooming cloud of inky blackness surrounds him and when it clears, Asajj Ventress is gone. Obi-Wan resurfaces, drags himself to the shore, and collapses upon it. _Gone!_ The realization is as bitter as the pain in his temples.

On the transport, Obi-Wan stares out into the dark field of stars and raises a tentative hand up to his neck. The skin is tender and his fingers trace the rough half-moon outline of a scab. He closes his eyes, and for a moment he can almost feel her, a lingering presence on the outskirts of his mind. Then he raises the fingers to his lips.

And though his body is screaming out for sleep, there can be no rest for him now.

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Hope everyone enjoyed that. There might be a full-on Obi-Wan/Ventress fic in the future, for all interested parties. Thanks for reading, and as always, all reviews are welcome.

- Calen


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